The International School

Dear TIS parents,

TIS is continuing with the planning for the possibility of an H1N1 (CDC term for the swine flu) outbreak at school.

In the event of a reported case of H1N1 at the school, all TIS families will be affected by these plans. Please read the following information carefully.

A. Avoiding the flu

The most important thing that all TIS community members should do now is to take the preventative steps outlined by the health departments.

As a reminder, that means:

1. Everyone must wash their hands with soap often and vigorously (the teachers will be reminding the children). Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
2. Keep ill children at home. We recognize that this is challenging for working parents, but this is advice coming directly from health officials.
3. Understand that the school will send your child home if she/he is not feeling well.
4. People must cough & sneeze into shirt sleeves or a tissue. The tissue must be then disposed of immediately. Do NOT cough/sneeze into hands – people will simply pass the germs on.

B. Flu symptoms

Always call the school office if your child will be home sick.

Notify the school immediately if your child:

• is diagnosed with H1N1 (swine flu) or
• shows symptoms after having been in contact with someone who is diagnosed with H1N1

C. Understand the nature of H1N1

• Click here for an informative document from the Center for Disease Control.

D. Use the public flu hotlines if you have flu-related questions, the numbers are as follows:

• Oregon state-wide: 800-978-3040
• Portland metro: 503-872-690

E. School closure

• Check your e-mail and the school web site home page each evening for a school closure announcement.
• CDC advises that if a school has one confirmed case of H1N1 flu, the school should close for 7 days. This is also true if someone is symptomatic and has been exposed to someone diagnosed with H1N1.
• TIS will follow this advice. The extended closure is important to determine whether other students or staff are affected
• We will not close mid-day. We will close the next day.
• TIS will send an e-mail announcement to all parents and post a notice in the announcements box on the school home page at www.intlschool.org.
• We will also notify the news service that sends announcements to all the TV and radio news stations. Our reports through this service are always available on our web site under “parent resources” – Emergency Closure.

F. Continuation of School

The faculty will soon be working toward delivering lessons electronically to your homes in the event of a school closure. We are considering using a variety of delivery methods as appropriate to the school, e.g. the class web sites. Other possibilities include email, Skype, etc.

You can get instructions for accessing the school web pages from your room parent. We will send more details by e-mail in the event of a closure.

G. Email addresses

If you know a TIS family that has recently changed their e-mail address, please ask them to make sure the school office has their new address!

Thank you very much,

Stephan Grasmuck

Dear TIS Parents,

We have just been notified about a great opportunity for you to get to know the Custom House and to start picturing what it might be like for our students, faculty, and staff (indeed, the entire TIS community) should the Board accept the CH award. The GSA (the government entity that owns the building) has granted us a special time for current TIS parents to tour the inside. It will be a limited tour because of GSA restrictions, but parents still will be able to get a flavor for the facility.

Please note: The GSA is doing us a significant favor by opening the building like this, so we need to adhere to their conditions. The GSA simply is trying to avoid issues relating to cost, liability, and agency oversight. Accordingly:

• These hours are for current TIS parents only (not friends, neighbors or media)
• Sorry, no children.
• We will be able to visit the 1st & 2nd floors (the building is 4-story)
• We will be able to use the stairs but not the elevators.
• Parents may not walk freely (unaccompanied) around the building

The tours will be THIS FRIDAY, MAY 1. Arrive any time between 9 am and 10:40 am.
(No need to RSVP, just show up.)

We intend to take parents around the Custom House in small groups, with the last tour starting at 10:40am since we must all be out of the building by 11am. We will start each tour when enough parents have gathered together.

I realize this timing won’t work for everyone, and I apologize. We’re still working with the GSA to try to arrange a tour that will accommodate working parents as well as our faculty and staff, as we had originally requested. We have impressed upon GSA the importance of this opportunity.

Please enter the Custom House from the west entrance located on NW 8th Avenue (between Davis and Everett). Parking should be available on Park, 8th, 9th, Davis, Everett, and Broadway. Seventy-five cents in the meter for 36 minutes should be sufficient unless you plan to walk around the park blocks or stop at one of the local coffee shops for a late breakfast or early lunch–I highly recommend the pancakes at Fuller’s Coffee Shop (the corner of NW 9th and Davis).

If you are driving to the Custom House from TIS, we recommend driving north on Naito to Davis. Take a left at the light and drive through China Town to the Custom House. Alternatively, Park and/or 8th is accessible using Broadway, Glisan, Burnside, or Couch.

We will keep you posted as to developments regarding a second tour.

Best,

Scott Kerman
Chair, Custom House Communications Subcommittee

Enrolment contracts
A sincere thank you to the very large number of TIS families who have submitted their enrolment contracts last week. Your prompt response is important for the school’s planning.

I must emphasize the significance to the school of receiving those contracts in a timely manner. The information guides the school in critical operational areas for the upcoming school year, including curricular programming, numbers of classes, and budgeting.

Wine tasting May 16
This is another reminder of this annual fund raiser for the TIS community. This year all proceeds go to support the TIS library. To join the fun, please buy your tickets at any TIS reception desk or at www.intlschool.org/wine.

Arthur (Corbett) Building
There are two issues with this facility about which we can update TIS families this week. The first has to do with building security. The front door shall now be kept locked at all times. If staff members are unable to be in the foyer to greet parents upon arrival at the school, there is now a doorbell at the front door to alert staff to a parent’s presence and need to enter the building. This week, a locksmith is coming in to make the electronic door lock operational once again. The door can then be unlocked from the receptionist’s desk for everyone’s convenience.

The children’s play deck is scheduled for inspection this week. All going well with the inspector, we hope that the children will be able to play on the deck immediately thereafter. Some work will remain to be done on ramp construction, however, but this will not affect the children’s use of the deck itself. The final deck finishing coat will be done when the ramps are all completed. While that finish dries, the deck will not be usable again for a few days.

Latino Festival
We extend our hearty congratulations to all the students and faculty of the Spanish track for the wonderful Latino Festival last Monday. By all accounts, the Festival was well done and well attended. Thank you, parents, for making the time to attend the event.

Special viewing: a private tour of Custom House for TIS parents
The government owners of Custom House (GSA) have agreed to open the building for two hours this coming Friday for our parents to tour. Please see the special article in this week’s ITK Hotlist for important details. I hope you can take advantage of this opportunity.

Thank you so much and congratulations to the Japanese Track students and Chisa Sensei and Junko Sensei for a great performance at the Uwajimaya Sakura Festival this past Saturday! They did a great job and were terrific representatives of our school. See photos in another post in today’s ITK.

Here’s to a wonderful final week of April.

Dr. Stephan Grasmuck
SGrasmuck@intlschool.org

All items from lost and found will be donated to Goodwill at the end of the month.  Please take a moment this week to look in the two lost and found bins and make sure that none of the articles of clothing or other items collected belong to your child.  The lost and found bins are located in the reception area of Stearns Hall and across from the gym.

If you are looking for an efficient, energetic and loving Spanish speaker to provide childcare in your home, please contact Yolanda Guerrero at 503-234-0205 or yolaplus5@yahoo.com. Yolanda comes highly recommended by two happy TIS families. Northeast Portland locations preferred.

Thank you so much and congratulations to the Japanese Track students and Chisa Sensei and Junko Sensei for a great performance at the Uwajimaya Sakura Festival this past Saturday! They did a great job and were terrific representatives of our school.

Whether or not you went to Curriculum Preview Night we want your feedback.

It’s just 3-5 questions – please click here to complete the survey!

Please complete this short survey by Wednesday, April 29.

(There will be a comprehensive survey about all aspects of TIS in early May).

Thanks

Linda Bonder
Marketing & Communications Director
LBonder@intlschool.org
503-226-2496 x104

You’ve read the blog and followed their journey from West to East and back. On May 1 (Friday), the Chinese 5th grade students will be sharing memories of their China Capstone Trip experience at 8:30-9:30 a.m. in the Gym. Parents and students from Chinese track are invited to join this event. The students will also be presenting during the next PTO meeting on May 13 and all parents are invited.

Finally I wanted to share what was an off-hand comment by one student that was music to my ears.  When the upper 4th and 5th graders see me around school they always ask me how far we will be running in the next class, after last class of 18 laps, they could only wonder with a bit of trepidation what next week would bring.  So when I was asked what they would be running next week (meaning this week as of this printing) I said…6 laps.  The student sighed a big sigh of relief and was truly happy to say, “YES, only a mile, that will be easy!”

Coach Robert
robertb@intlschool.org

The French American International School (FAIS)  is hosting a workshop called ” Raising our Daughters” by Kathy Masarie

Thursday, May 21, 2009
4:30-6pm

Learn about girls’ social lives, ways to navigate the media, and most of all, effective communication. Respecting the qualities your daughter brings to the world and communicating with compassion can result in both of you feeling listened to, understood, and appreciated.

The presentation will be in the Rose Préau Commons
8500 NW Johnson Street
Portland

RSVP to Diana Platas at FAIS.
dplatas@faispdx.org or 503-292-7776 x328